The greatest sixth man from each NBA team

Greatest sixth man in San Antonio Spurs: Manu Ginobili

Most players who find themselves as sixth men take one of a handful of tracks to get there. They might be a younger player not yet proven as a reliable starter. They may also be a talented one-way player, either offense or defense, needing the blunter edge of entering a game from the bench. Other players see injuries or age-related decline slide them onto the bench.

The narrative was different for the San Antonio Spurs when head coach Gregg Popovich made the decision to move Manu Ginobili to the bench. The Argentinian star came to the NBA after years of dominance in other countries, and soon was a full-time starter for the team.

After titles in 2003 and 2005, Popovich came to the conclusion that starting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili left a hole on the bench that could not be filled by another player. To spread out his best players and provide the bench some offensive creation, Ginobili became a sixth man for the Spurs in the prime of his career.

Ginobili averaged double-digit points for a number of seasons with the Spurs, hitting 19.5 points per game in 2007-08. He won Sixth Man of the Year that season, although looking back it’s almost shocking he did not win more than once. The Spurs won two more titles with Ginobili as the sixth man, and he continued being productive off the bench into his 40s when he made the decision to retire.